Menus by the Month

Once Upon a Menu.

2009-10-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

Remember when we used to share our menu ideas with one another? Well, I'm ba-aaack!

Our November menu can be found here. Let the menu planning and general re-organizing of life begin, I say!

June is here

2009-06-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

And so is my June menu. Again, no links, for the same reason I stated before. But it's a menu!

Where does the time go?

2009-06-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a year since any of us posted, but I've been keeping my menus going for the past five or six months with a decent amount of consistency. I find that it is such a help when making my grocery list, and it keeps us from throwing out moldy veggies. So, here are my four most recent menus. Sorry that none of the recipes is linked; most of these are from our own recipe book or from cookbooks we like.

February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009

June is still being worked on, though I do have the first couple of weeks finished. I'll wait to post it until it's complete.

Happy eating!

August, by Melissa (or, "Is It REALLY August Already?!")

2008-08-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

And here you thought I'd died and fallen off the face of the earth. Find out what we're eating in August here.

Confessions of an (almost) Aspiring Cook

2008-04-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

It is well into the month of April and I have no menu to show for it.

Haven't even started one. Or thought about it.

In fact, I can literally say that I have not made a single meal this month, save the three large batches of chicken noodle soup prepared to help us through our sickest days.

Can I just start over in May, and strike this month from the record?

Cubs win! Cubs win!

2008-04-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

David and I watched the Cubs win today, this beautiful day during which we ate outside for the first time this spring. It motivated us to make our April menu, and we did so in one fell swoop. There's a first time for everything, huh?

Happy spring, everyone!

A two-fer!

2008-03-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

All righty . . . thanks to Melissa, I now know what to do. At least until next month. ;)

So, without further ado, here are our menus for February AND March! Voila!

Patience, please

2008-03-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

I apologize that my March menu has not yet made it to the blog, but I am having the hardest time getting it to work. Even my husband, whom I lovingly refer to as "the computer whisperer", can't seem to figure it out. But March is done (and so is February now, too!), so if we can ever make sense of Google Pages, we'll post them.

Audrey's March Menu

2008-03-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

I can't BELIEVE that we're already in the middle of week 2 of March! Or that this is the third month of menu-planning in 2008. The year is flying by, I tell you. Before we know it, December will be upon us:)

This month, I had a tough time creating my menu. It was a challenge for me not to know my work schedule in the early stages of planning. I simply hate the idea of putting time and effort into making meal decisions, just to have them thrown to the wayside with an unexpected trip.

Thus the procrastination. And the posting on day 12 of the month.

The menu's finishing touches were added today (after an adjustment as I was unexpectedly home rather than in Vancouver), and I'm happy to say that I'm baking my meatballs as I type!

Happy Eating!

Samara's March Menu.

2008-03-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

March is one of my favorite months of the year but making this months menu wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.

I think it had a little something to do with me feeling like it's the same old, same old written over and over and over.

This is me soliciting your advice:

Help me think of creative, yet bland menu options for our family. We eat a lot of chicken, which is good, but it seems like a lot of the same when I worked on the menu. We also seem to have lasagna at least once or twice a month and man, that's a lot of carbs.

So I need some more creative, yet SIMPLE menu options. Things I can whip up in an hour or less, that I don't need a ton of special one time use ingredients and that all of us (picky eater, me included) will eat.

So without further ado, March's menu can be seen here.

*Changes thus far: There will be no lasagna for me on March 25th, as I'm going out with Holly and Hayley. I'm guessing J and the kids won't be having lasagna either.*

From Melissa: Marching Onward.

2008-03-05T07:47:00.001-08:00

We're already a few days into the month but things have been so busy around our little hacienda that I've hardly had time to post! Ironically, our menu has been done since last week.

At any rate, here is our meal plan for March. I am SO LOVING this new method of organizing, planning, stocking up on groceries ahead of time, and not running to the store - or ordering in - at the last minute! Our favorite delivery guy at the local Chinese take-out place must be wondering if we've fallen off the face of the earth!

Due to the extremely busy nature of this month, you'll notice lots of slow-cooker meals, leftovers, and easy options. My in-laws will be in town for a weekend and I am sing, sing, singing my little heart out at rehearsals, two major church services, and two Cantate concerts. Steve has board meetings and rehearsals for the Easter play he wrote for our church. Lord, help us make it through!

Hope you and yours are enjoying a happy and healthy month of yummy meals so far. Let's hear it for spring!

Slacker girl, checking in

2008-02-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

Kristi –

Thanks for your questions. I apologize for my delayed responses. If you’ve noticed, I also haven’t put up a february menu. It’s just been that kind of a month! And now it's over. Ugh.

1 & 2 – Much like Samara, David and I were going to the grocery store two to three times a week to pick up a few things here and there as we needed them for whatever we’d decide to eat on a particular night. I much prefer to have a longer list and do it in one fell swoop than to have to make multiple trips. It also saves on gas and time. In addition, we’ve had to be much more intentional about knowing exactly what is in our refrigerator. But because we are, things aren’t going bad in the fridge as often as they once did (as Melissa also noted).

3 – How much we spend on groceries varies from week to week. and until this past week — when Melissa told me of a market not far from us that has incredibly low prices on very fresh fruits, vegetables, and even meats — we were spending maybe a third of our total bill on produce. Crazy! You can bet I’m heading there the next time we need fruits and veggies. Another factor is whether the meals we’re making will feed us more than once. Winter chilis and chowders can supply us with a good two to three meals, in which case we won’t be spending as much on groceries when they’re on the meal plan.

4 – Planning the menu in our house takes time, as we learned this month. Because David and I share the cooking, we both like to be involved in the menu planning. However, this means we need to sit down together and look through our cookbooks (and friends’ menus and/or blogs) for ideas of what we might like. I’d say it takes about an hour or so to get a month hashed out. Like Melissa, I also put events on my menu, particularly meetings and rehearsals that dictate when we need to be done eating (though I'm less likely to create theme meals).

One last thing I would mention is that we don’t always stick to our menu religiously. Sometimes we’re just not in the mood for whatever is on the schedule, and sometimes unforeseen events crop up that make it impossible. But having the whole week/month planned out makes it easy to switch around.

Thanks again for your questions, Kristi! I’m thrilled to have Tim in the office, by the way! And David and I are so excited for you both as you anticipate the birth of your baby.

Samara's answers to Kristi's Q&A:

2008-02-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the questions Kristi, here's my thoughts:

1. The menu planning has DEFINITELY changed our grocery shopping. Before I was going to the grocery store 1-2 times a week picking up meal necessities etc. Now that the month is planned out ahead I do one big trip at the beginning of the month to purchase our meats, pastas, sauces, marinades etc. I still find I'm stopping at the grocery once a week but it's a smaller trip for produce, milk, yogurt...things that you can't have on hand for an entire month. But the bulk of the food shopping is done in one trip.

2. I am guessing we are spending less because there are less opportunities for impulse purchases. I'm trying to be intentional with what I already have on hand.

3. I take advantage of sales and coupons. I definitely stock up on pork chops, chicken breast, ground turkey when it is a sale of BOGO. We have a deep freeze that I try to keep filled with options so because of this our food budget probably varies month to month because there are times I can simply use a majority of meat that we have on hand, other times I need to replenish and stock up. I would guess we are saving money on the rest of the items by having a menu and a list, not buying things we're not planning on using within the month. I can't pinpoint a dollar amount because of the variables but from Saturday to Wednesday of each week we are feeding five people, and the rest of the week it's three. That makes a difference too.

4. Creating my menu probably takes an hour tops, however I have the least amount of cooking experience and don't do anything fancy or crazy. I'm working on it though!

Congrats on your pregnancy, so glad you're enjoying the menus!

Audrey's February Menu

2008-02-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Although its almost silly to post this now (given that the month is more than half over!), as they say, Better Late Than Never!

When I created this menu, I knew that this month was going to find me away from home almost every week, so its a little sparse.

Also, I've had a lot of encouragement from Mark to include more Filipino-inspired dishes into the menu, so as I work through them (with many a phone call to my Dad, I'm sure), I'll try to post recipes that I think others might enjoy.

Happy February!

Reader Mail: Logistics Q&A

2008-02-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Kristi writes:

"OK, I have a couple questions for you ladies. I am coming out of the first trimester of my pregnancy and back to the real world of eating. It is quite amazing. I am also feeling better and finally up for going to the store (literally, I have been once since Christmas).

I have been a frequent viewer of your menus and am very impressed. I am curious in terms of planning. Now that you know your meals in advance at the beginning of the month has this changed the way and how often you go grocery shopping? Also what about how much you spend on food, do you spend more or less? And finally if you don't mind sharing an average of your food budget ...I am curious for several reasons but the main reason being I want to plan accordingly and properly and know how much time and money to set aside each month. Oh yes, and how long does it take you to create your menus?? Thanks for any and all answers you are willing to share/post."

Well, Kristi, you're in luck! These are great questions, and I'm happy to answer them from my perspective. I hope the other Menu Planning Ladies will leave any of their thoughts in the comments section.

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy. We here at MenusByTheMonth are so thrilled for you and your Hubs. Let me see if I can answer all of your questions - at least from my experience - in order:

1. Menu planning has definitely impacted the effectiveness of grocery shopping. Even though I still have to run to the store mid-week at times - for bread, milk, wine, fish, or last-minute items I've forgotten - I'm able to plan my shopping ahead of time very effectively.

2. I would say that my grocery budget has stayed pretty much the same, although here and there I've been able to save a few dollars by looking up sales in the weekly ads that arrive in the mail, or by purchasing in bulk to get a BOGO deal (i.e. if I know we're having pork chops twice in one month, I can buy two packages if there's a special, get one free, and freeze one of the packages for later in the month). Not huge differences but every little bit counts, right? One SIGNIFICANT way that I find we're saving money is that because we're planning ahead, we have less food going bad in the fridge - groceries that weren't well thought-out, a big shopping trip when we had a busy week ahead, leftovers in the fridge when we have meetings three days in a row. And of course, we're not getting as much takeout because there's no food in the fridge!

3. I'm guessing that all of us probably have very different food budgets. Our is on the high end even thought it's just the two of us because, well, we're food snobs. I'm sure things will change some if we have kids someday, but for now, I like good cuts of meat, lots of fish, tons of produce (which we eat at meals and as snacks throughout the day), good wine...so we make the food portion of our budget a little more of a priority than, say, entertainment, whereas I'm sure there are other folks who would rather eat EasyMac but go out to movies once a week. :) I'd say that the best thing to do in creating your food budget is to determine what YOUR priorities are in eating well. Is it nutrition? What foods are more expensive than others? Planning a monthly menu can really help you in the budget area because you have time to think through balancing out some nicer meals with more economic ones. Do you like to have bread with each meal? Maybe it would be more cost-effective to spend one Saturday baking a bunch of loaves and freezing them rather than buying them, which can be costly. Do you have little ones? Consider making vegetables that puree and freeze well so you can stock them for the baby while still getting a yummy veggie in for the adults. I think that when you determine your preferences and priorities, your budget will reflect your unique needs and wants.

4. Because I really love menu planning, I get pretty into it - picking colors for the month and trying to find meals that correspond with holidays (such as Jambalaya on Mardi Gras). I also go through our calendar and put any important plans on the menu. These little things take time, but I find they're well worth it, save lots of time in the end - and give me a pretty calendar on my fridge to look at! ;) The last thing I do before plotting out our meals is ask Steven if there's anything he's really craving (usually his response is, "Just make sure there's fish once a week!" or "Filet mignon!"). Once I have that info, I'm ready to go. It probably takes me a good 2-3 hours that I stagger throughout the course of a week to hammer out all the recipes and combinations I want, and to look up the menus online or set them aside if I have them on file. Then I type up my grocery list with those recipes in front of me, and I'm ready to go! Because this is something I really love doing, I find myself plotting the next month as soon as I'm able - March is just about ready!

Happy Planning, Kristi! I'm glad you're enjoying this site, and was thrilled to see your own menu on your blog. Keep us posted on how it works out for you!
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Have a question for us? Submit it via Comment and we'll be happy to answer!

Samara's February Menu

2008-02-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

February's menu for our family can be seen here.

The items marked with an asterisk are *new* recipes I'm trying. I'll report back the recipe and what I thought of the meal.

Changes to the menu:

13th: Samara out with Hayley and Holly.

15th: No date night. We'll probably have what was scheduled for the 13th.

16th: Out with Hayley and Chad

Idea of the month: We've been doing this for a few weeks now but we have started using 'sharing candies'. Each night, each family member gets the same amount of a particular candy. (For example, three m&m's one night and maybe five candy hearts another.) Each person shares one thing about their day for each candy. It's a fun way to learn more about each other's days, keep conversation flowing and keep it all fair. Which you all know is highly important in this house.

Happy meals!

Melissa's February Menu.

2008-02-03T21:12:00.001-08:00

Our February menu is now available online. Click here to see what we're eating to stay healthy - and warm! - this month.

Cheers!

Ratatou-whee!

2008-01-18T20:58:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share with you the recipe David and I made tonight. It comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers cookbook, and David and I deVOURed it.

Roasted Ratatouille

1 zucchini
3 onions
1 eggplant, peeled
2 tomatoes
2 red, green, or yellow bell peppers
6 garlic cloves
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves*
grated romano, pecorino romano, or parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut all of the vegetables into one-inch chunks and place them in a large bowl. Chop the garlic coarsely**. Toss the vegetables and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread on a liberally olive-oiled baking sheet (or two). Roast for 15 minutes and then stir the vegetables. Continue to roast for 25 or 30 minutes, stirring again after 20 minutes (be sure to do this or they may begin to burn on the bottom a bit), until the vegetables are fork-tender and juicy.

While the vegetables roast, chop the basil. When the vegetables are done, put them in a serving bowl and stir in the chopped basil. Pass the grated cheese at the table.

We served this on top of whole wheat couscous, which was very tasty!

* We didn't have any basil leaves, and it still tasted fine. If you have some, go for it!
** We used our garlic press, which worked just fine.

We didn't watch Ratatouille, as I had originally thought we might, but we did watch March of the Penguins (thanks, Melissa!), which was absolutely beautiful. Simply amazing.

audrey's january menu

2008-01-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

ladies, i thought that i wasn't going to participate this month, but the rest of you inspired me!

here's my month's worth of menus.

well, all three-days-a-week-when-i'm-not-traveling of them.

just a note: this doesn't fully represent all the cooking that takes place in our home. my husband is the true chef, and his amazing, spur-of-the-moment, gourmet concoctions are just that. unplanned. and thus, not represented here:)

Samara's January menu.

2008-01-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

Voila!

January's menu is seen here.

And before you even ask, yes I tend to like broccoli, white rice and chicken. I'm working on getting out of my very-small-food comfort zone.

Have advice, ideas or suggestions for February? Send them my way.

Ann-Marie's January calendar

2008-01-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

Here it is, such as it is. Only five of the recipes are linked, but I hope that will change as time goes by. If you're interested in a certain recipe, let me know and I'll happily email it to you!

You'll notice that Wednesday nights (for the most part) have us at church for a Faithbuilders dinner gathering. We won't know from week to week what the food will be, so some weeks it may just come down to portion control.

Here it is, our calendar.

Melissa's January Calendar.

2008-01-14T13:11:00.001-08:00

We're live! Here's to a new year - one with carefully thought-out meals.

Our household's January calendar can be found here.

On the road to a healthier lifestyle

2008-01-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Menus by the Month! It is the hope of the four of us -- Audrey, Melissa, Samara, and Ann-Marie -- to plan out our menus one month at a time and share them on this blog. The way by which we will do this is yet to be worked out, so bear with us. But check back every few days, as we will most likely begin posting our menus/recipes in some form or another soon.

Best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy new year!